The boy was playing outside his home on West 13th Street when he was attacked by a pit bull, police said. The dog had the boy by the leg when its alleged owner pulled the boy out from underneath the dog.

The youngster’s Labrador retriever ran from his house and began fighting with the pit bull when police arrived on scene and used stun guns on both dogs.

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The pit bull was shocked four times before police shot it to death.

Liz Ellis, the boy’s grandmother, was at the scene of the incident Monday and said her grandson was doing well on Tuesday. She said he did not receive stitches, as they might enclose potential infections within the wound.

“He has bite wounds on the back of his legs, but he was up to date on his shots,” Ellis said.

The boy’s aunt, Kristen Tucker, said her nephew was in good spirits once he received treatment Monday at the hospital.

“He was more worried about the patient next to him,” Tucker said.

She said her nephew’s injuries could have been much worse if the neighbor from across the street hadn’t pulled the boy away from the pit bull.

The neighbor, who is the dog’s alleged owner, suffered a finger injury during the incident. The man is expected to undergo surgery on his finger in order to save it from amputation, Tucker said.

The body of the pit bull is being taken to Columbus for an autopsy to determine if the dog had any diseases, Tucker said.

The family’s Labrador retriever, Kilroy, also called “Killer,” also was in good spirits Tuesday. The 9-year-old dog had surgery last year to remove a tumor, but appeared to be in good health.

Tucker said she is taking Kilroy to the veterinarian Tuesday afternoon. A probe from a Taser remained embedded in Kilroy’s back, but Tucker said he does not seem to be in any pain.
“He’s fine,” she said. “He’s playing with his ball. He’s happy.”

Tucker said her nephew’s injuries could have been worse if Kilroy hadn’t been there. Other children were on Tucker’s front porch when the pit bull attacked, but Kilroy began fighting with the pit bull, which diverted it’s attention.

“He protected a lot of people out there (Monday),” Tucker stated.

Tucker said she recently lost a pet pit bull and does not believe that the breed is naturally aggressive.

“There had to be something wrong with that dog,” she said. “It had to be triggered. I think it was hungry, broke loose, and went after the first thing it saw. It’s not the dog, it’s the owner.”